Inquest date into death of Ottawa construction worker announced
A long-awaited coroner’s inquest into the death of an Ottawa construction worker finally has a start date.
The Ministry of the Solicitor General announced on September 22 that the procedure will begin on October 11.
Oliver Bruneau, 24, died in hospital in March 2016. He had been working in the bottom of a nine-storey deep excavation site near Ottawa’s downtown when a slab of ice detached from an excavation wall and crushed him.
The inquest had been scheduled for July and was expected to last five days, but was postponed.
Over the course of the video conference, the inquest will focus on four points:
- Safety protocols for the work site, including ice removal and mitigation of dangers posed by falling ice.
- Protocols for site inspection, including any follow-up site inspection, once safety concerns had been raised.
- The criteria for reopening the site after being closed for safety reasons.
- The creation of exclusion zones.
Dr. Geoffrey Bond will be the presiding officer and Jai Dhar will be inquest counsel.
The inquest is expected to last nine days and hear from as many as 16 witnesses.